Sam Taylor-Johnson’s Fifty Shades of Grey dominated the box office, taking in a record-breaking $81.7 million this Valentine’s Day and President’s Day weekend.
The film adaptation of EL James’ S&M-laced romance novel is the highest R-rated debut in history and the second highest-grossing February release behind The Passion of the Christ ($83.8 million). Fifty Shades also takes the crown for biggest Valentine’s Day debut, beating out Valentine’s Day’s $56.3 million in 2010.
Moviegoers gave the film a C plus CinemaScore, along with mixed reviews, while critics gave the film a dismal 26 percent “fresh” score on Rotten Tomatoes. The erotic drama, budgeted at $40 million, is expected to do more than $90 million over the four-day holiday.
While women dominated Friday’s opening audience (68 percent), MovieTickets.com said that couples purchased 80 percent of tickets for Valentine’s Day on Saturday.
“It had that whole sex thing going for it, it was edgy, and it started a conversation,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior box office analyst at Rentrak. “It went beyond being a girls’ night out movie and became a date night movie.”
Fifty Shades, starring Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan, debuted in over 3,646 locations – the widest release to date for an R-rated film.
The weekend’s other new release was Matthew Vaughn’s Kingsman: The Secret Service with a solid $10.5 million on Friday for a $38 million- $40 million debut. The Fox action film, starring Colin Firth and Samuel L. Jackson, earned a B plus CinemaScore from 3,204 locations.
“We knew [‘Fifty Shades of Grey’] was going to be a big movie, but it seemed like everyone else was staying away, and we saw an opportunity,” said Chris Aronson, Fox’s domestic distribution chief. “This is a terrific, smart action movie that’s primarily geared toward males.”
The $80 million-plus film features Firth as a quirky spy training his young, sometimes stubborn, recruits. Kingsman’s opening crowd were 57 percent male and 60 percent over the age of 25.
Last weekend’s champ The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water earned $30.5 million for the three-day weekend, and is expected to cross $100 million by the time the holiday ends. The family friendly film lands in third place, with Warner Bros.’ American Sniper coming in fourth place. Clint Eastwood’s war film has added another $16.4 million over the weekend, officially passing $300 million at the domestic box office.
Rounding out the top five is Warner Bros.’ Jupiter Ascending with $9.4 million for the three-day period, and has accumulated $32.5 million since debuting last weekend.
Top 10 Films at Weekend Box Office: February 13-15
- Fifty Shades of Grey — $81.7 million
- Kingsman: The Secret Service — $35.6 million
- The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water — $30.5 million
- American Sniper — $16.4 million
- Jupiter Ascending — $9.4 million
- Seventh Son —$4.2 million
- Paddington —$4.1 million
- The Imitation Game —$3.4 million
- The Wedding Ringer —$3.4 million
- Project Almanac —$2.7 million
